Turning Point Action

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Turning Point Action (TPA) is a 501(c)(4) organization founded by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. In July 2019, TPA purchased Students for Trump, a youth group founded in 2015 at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina by John Lambert and Ryan Fournier.

History[]

In May 2019, it was reported that Kirk was "preparing to unveil" Turning Point Action, a 501(c)(4) entity allowed to target Democrats.[1] While the group claims to be a "completely separate organization" from Turning Point USA, Forbes noted that both were founded by Kirk and use common marketing and branding styles.[2]

In July 2019, TPA purchased the assets of Students for Trump, a youth group founded in 2015 at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina by John Lambert and Ryan Fournier.[3][4]

2020 presidential elections[]

In September 2020, The Washington Post reported Turning Point Action had paid young people in Arizona, some of them minors, to post Turning Point content on their social media accounts without disclosing their affiliation with Turning Point, and that Turning Point had given them specific instructions how to make minor alterations to the content to prevent detection that it came from the same source. The posts cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process, and downplayed the threat from COVID-19.[5]

The campaign has been likened to a "troll farm", avoiding the content moderation processes of social media platforms.[6] According to an examination by the newspaper and an independent data science specialist, the campaign was highly coordinated and included similar messaging under the instruction of Turning Point to prevent detection. Some of the messages were false and some were partisan.[5] One message posted on Twitter "claimed coronavirus numbers were intentionally inflated" and that "it’s hard to know what to believe." Another tweet warned to not trust Anthony Fauci.[5] The Washington Post reported that Twitter responded to their questions by suspending at least 20 accounts for their involvement in "platform manipulation and spam."[7]

On Facebook, a comment cast doubts on mail-in ballots because of the potential of mail fraud.[5] An Instagram comment claimed that 28 million ballots went missing in the past four elections, implying voter fraud.[5] In actuality, the missing ballots were neither returned as undeliverable nor returned by voters.[8] Also targeted in the messaging was Joe Biden, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate at the time, along with other Democratic politicians, and news organizations on social media. One message claimed that Biden "is being controlled by behind the scenes individuals who want to take America down the dangerous path towards socialism."[5] Facebook removed a number of accounts during their ongoing investigation.[5] Austin Smith, a field director for Turning Point told The Washington Post: "This is sincere political activism conducted by real people who passionately hold the beliefs they describe online, not an anonymous troll farm in Russia." Jake Hoffman, CEO of a Phoenix-based digital marketing firm that joined Turning Point for this project explained that "dozens of young people have been excited to share their beliefs on social media." He also added that participants are "using their own personal profiles and sharing their content that reflects their values and beliefs."[7][5]

After The Washington Post reported the campaign, the accounts associated with the campaign were shut down by Twitter and Facebook.[9]

In July 2021, Turning Point Action hosted a "Rally to Save our Elections". One of the speakers was Trump who spoke for almost two hours, repeating debunked allegations of voter fraud..[10] [11]

References[]

  1. ^ Schwartz, Brian (May 20, 2019). "Pro-Trump college GOP activist Charlie Kirk will launch a new group to target Democrats in 2020". CNBC. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  2. ^ Sandler, Rachel (October 8, 2020). "Facebook Bans Marketing Firm That Made Fake Accounts For Conservative Nonprofit Turning Point Action". Forbes. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  3. ^ "Turning Point Action Launches 2020 Expansion, Acquires 'Students for Trump'". Democracy in Action. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  4. ^ Brown, Stephen Rex (August 6, 2019). "Students for Trump founder pleads guilty to posing as lawyer in $46K scam". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Stanley-Becker, Isaac (September 16, 2020). "Pro-Trump youth group enlists teens in secretive campaign likened to a 'troll farm,' prompting rebuke by Facebook and Twitter". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Lopatto, Elizabeth (September 15, 2020). "Conservative group used a bunch of teens to evade Twitter and Facebook moderation". The Verge. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Flood, Brian (September 16, 2020). "Turning Point USA-affiliated, pro-Trump teenagers violated Twitter policy with coordinated posts: report". Fox News. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Mikkelson, David (May 21, 2020). "Did 28 Million Mail-In Ballots Go 'Missing' in Last Four Elections?". Snopes.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Paul LeBlanc and Donie O'Sullivan. "Twitter and Facebook shut down accounts linked to youth conservative group's misleading social media campaign". CNN. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Former President Donald Trump attends rally in downtown Phoenix". ABC15. July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  11. ^ Pengelly, Martin (July 25, 2021). "Arizona secretary of state tells Trump before election lie rally: get over it". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2021.

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